Times are tough, and many families can’t afford youth sports. We're raising funds to sponsor local athletes in IL to play Pop Warner football! Help us cover gear, registration, and give these kids a chance to shine on...
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Why Game Changers Foundation Was Born
Years ago, before I had a child of my own, I was watching a youth football game. I used to play myself, so I knew talent when I saw it. One kid, maybe 10 or 11, was clearly the best player on the field. From where I was sitting, I thought, “Man, those cleats are fire—I gotta see what brand they are.”
After the game, I got close enough to check them out, and my heart dropped. His “cleats” were held together with tape. I asked him about them, and he told me they were his older brother’s, but they didn’t fit yet, so his parents taped them around his ankles and in other places to hold them together. That moment broke me.
I couldn’t let it go. I reached out to a friend at Nike, bought the kid a pair of cleats and gloves, and brought them back to the field. When I handed them to him, he was so overwhelmed he tried to give them back, saying his parents wouldn’t want him to take them. I insisted it was a gift—I wanted nothing but for him to keep playing as hard as he could. He promised he would. I never got his name, but in my heart, I know that kid is still playing somewhere.
Fast forward a few years. When my son started playing, I made sure he had the chance to experience different environments. He plays for a suburban team, and in the spring, he plays in Chicago. But that first practice in Chicago hit me hard. It was a culture shock. One team had multiple fields, storage sheds, and state-of-the-art gear. The other? They split one field into 10-yard segments to fit as many teams as possible—and all they had was one football per team.
That moment reignited the fire in me, and Game Changers Foundation was born. Our mission is simple: help as many young athletes as possible. Since then, we’ve partnered with Riddell to provide custom helmets and expanded to sponsor kids in multiple sports, covering registration fees and ensuring they have what they need to succeed.
But we’re not stopping there. Our ultimate goal? To grow and help entire programs thrive. We’re just getting started, and with the support of our community, we’ll keep changing the game for kids everywhere.
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